Changing Fate
by nightwing1296
Summary: The story of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings is well known throughout the world. However, when a simple environmental accident causes the Arkenstone to shatter the story changes. Arya, a human girl, is transported to Middle Earth and continues to change the fates of characters and events alike in the fantasy story. How else will she change the course of the story?
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Bilbo couldn't believe the monster Thorin was turning into. He was watching his friend devolve before his eyes and he couldn't watch it any longer. He had the Arkenstone and he knew what he would do with it. That night he snuck out of the mountain and ran to the camp the Men had constructed. Gandalf was there, along with the leader of the Men and the elvish king Thranduil.

"I have something that can help us," Bilbo said when he entered. The three men looked at the hobbit as he pulled out the glowing stone. "It's my share of the treasure. Thorin wants it, use it to bargain for peace."

The Man took the stone from Bilbo and he looked to the others.

They rode out the next day calling for Thorin. The dwarves appeared atop their stone barricade. Bard held out the Arkenstone for all to see. "We will return the stone to you if you promise to have peace."

But suddenly, a rumbling began. The earth shook violently, knocking stones off the barricade and taking down more of the ruin of Dale. Men were knocked from their horses and one of the dwarves toppled from their barricade. He would have fallen if his brethren hadn't caught his arm. Bard could not hold onto the Arkenstone as the shaking continued. It toppled from his grasp and shattered on the stone path. A blast radiated from the pieces of the great stone and took those who remained standing down. Bard, Thrandiul, and Gandalf were knocked from their horses. A beam of light shot to the sky and blinded everyone. The world was white.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1- Enter a World**

It was a long day at school as usual: listening to lectures, taking notes as fast as her fingers could type, and learning about yet another test she had to take as usual. Why she ever decided to come to college was beyond her and every day you considered dropping out. It was the fall semester of Arya's sophomore year and she still had no clue what to do with her life. She'd fallen into a routine of drinking coffee, attending classes, studying, eating, and sleeping. All she wanted was a little adventure in her life, something to keep her on her toes. There were not enough shows on Netflix to keep her occupied. She had read most of the books in the library that interested her. Philosophy books even sounded interesting at this point.

Arya was walking back to her dorm room just like any other normal day of college when she felt a slight shake in the ground. She paused to look around; everyone on the walkway was stopped and seemed just as confused as she was. Did they all really just experience an earthquake in New England? Arya shook her head to clear it of any fog or sleepiness that still remained from her almost all-nighter; maybe she needed more sleep, or just less coffee. It was probably starting to affect her sanity. Just as she thought she was for the most part okay, another rumble shook the ground and almost knocked her off of her feet. Then, something erupted from the brick walkway and surrounded her. The beam blinded her and blew all of her hair straight up in the air, clothes billowing around her as if she was in an air tunnel. The world went black around Arya and her boring student life flashed before her eyes.

The next thing she knew she was lying on her back staring at a clear blue sky. She could see a mountain range to the left and what seemed to be an open valley to her right. The murmuring of voices filled her ears and the smell of sweat and salt water filled her nostrils. Arya's body ached when she tried to move, almost as if she had been hit with a car even though she had never actually experienced that.

A searing pain erupted in her head as she tried to lift it and a soothing voice sounded, "Don't try to move, it will only make the pain worse."

"What has happened to the Arkenstone!? Have you foolish men destroyed it!?" A rough voice yelled from somewhere far away. "Gandalf! What was that light?"

"Gandalf?" Arya murmured. Turning your head, you saw an older man with a gray beard, kind eyes, and gray hat kneeling next to her. "Oh god."

"Do you know me, child?" The man who must be Gandalf murmured. He seemed to resemble her image of the old wizard fairly well, but she deduced that her lack of sleep had finally gotten to her mind and made her go crazy. This simply couldn't be.

"Gandalf answer me! Has the Bowman destroyed the treasure that is rightfully mine?" The voice from above must be Thorin's, but what he was talking about couldn't be right. The Arkenstone was never destroyed in the books. Arya had read them multiple times when she was in middle school and watched the movies with her family. She could've sworn the stone was the reason fighting ensued between the Five Armies which caused the death of Fili, Kili, and Thorin.

"The Arkenstone…" another searing pain in her head made her decide that remaining still was the best option at the moment.

"What is your name child? From where do you come?" Gandalf asked as he laid a hand on Arya's forehead.

"Um, Arya. New York."

"Where is that? Is it near Gondor or Rohan?"

"No, am I dreaming or something? I'm in a book." She shook her head quickly, maybe she hit her head and that's why it hurt so much. She would wake up in the medical center and everything would be back to normal.

"This is very real child, you appeared out of the stone. Do you know why you're here?" Another voice sounded next to Gandalf. This one from a tall, beautiful man with blond hair, blue eyes, and a crown woven out of tree branches. He must be Thranduil. Now she was sure she was dreaming, or crazy, or something.

"No, no, no. I need to leave. I'll wake up soon, this is all a hallucination or something," jumping to her feet she tried to walk away, but she fell down as quickly as she got up. Spots appeared in her vision as strong arms wrapped around her before she hit the ground.

"She needs help. Whatever that light was did something and brought her here." Thranduil murmured, probably to Gandalf.

"You're very right, I will contact Galadriel right away. Thorin, we will be back to settle this. Do not do anything you will regret," Gandalf yelled up to the mountain.

"Bring me my stone!" That was the last thing Arya heard before those arms picked her up and carried her away as the spots grew and she fell into a deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2- The Stranger**

Arya dreamed. She never dreamed. Whenever she slept at school it was always so deep dreams never came. Or they were nightmares. This was different though; it felt real. She imagined she was in Smaug's cave with all of his treasure. The mountains of gold glittered, their worth screaming at her. They called for her to grab some and keep it for herself. But then their voices suddenly stopped. She turned to look behind her and found she was not alone on the ledge she stood. A terrifying looking dwarf stood behind her. His eyes were crazy and his beard unruly. "A thief trying to steal my treasure? Unacceptable! You will die with your greed!" He yelled at her before he thrust a sword in her gut and pushed her off the ledge. Arya screamed as she fell, waiting for the inevitable impact on the gold hill below her.

But the impact never came. Instead she sat up screaming, jolted awake by the terror of her dream. Her scream was silenced by a hand that quickly covered her mouth.

"Shhhhhh, you'll wake the whole village," the owner of the hand said. It was a girl of about 10 years old with dark blond hair and blue eyes. She was sitting next to Arya holding a wet towel with the hand that wasn't covering her mouth. Arya stopped screaming and nodded, so the girl pulled her hand away and went back to wringing out the towel.

While the girl was working, Arya looked around. She was in the middle of a makeshift camp in what seemed to be a ruined city. People were laying in the street, a square, anywhere they could find room. An older boy and girl were sleeping next to her on blankets.

"Where am I?" Arya asked the girl.

"The old kingdom of Dale. Father said you fell of out that bright beam of light. Is that true?" The little girl asked while she forced her to lie back down.

"Dale? Are you sure? And your father would be?" Just as the girl was about to answer a man came up to them and answered for her.

"Me. I'm glad to see you're awake Arya. How are you doing?" The man looked like an older version of Will Turner from _Pirates of the Caribbean_. He had brown hair shoulder length, a dark moustache, and a small goatee under his bottom lip. His blue coat was tied with rope around his stomach and he carried a quiver of arrows across his back. In his left hand was a large bow.

"You're Bard. Bard the Bowman." Was this real? Or did she just hit her head really hard during that earthquake?

"How do you know that?" His eyes had not been very friendly before but at her statement something changed. Somehow his dark eyes became darker and his hand twitched as if to grab one of those arrows on his back.

"I, um…" Even if this was just a dream, she did not want to take the chance that Bard wouldn't shoot her in the heart with an arrow if she posed a threat to his family. But how could she explain how she knew his name?

"I'm sure she's heard stories through the night of you slaying Smaug, father," the girl answered. She must be Tilda. Arya quickly glanced over at her and gave her a small grateful smile. When she looked up at Bard again, he seemed to be contemplating the answer. The wariness in his eyes did not leave but he nodded slightly.

"Come with me, Gandalf and Thranduil would like to speak with you," he turned and began to walk down the stone street before he even finished. She scrambled up from the makeshift sleeping area and jogged to catch up with Bard. Although she had been considered average height she still felt small compared to the tall, muscular bowman. Three of her strides were comparable to one of his.

The two wound their way up the old stone paths of Dale, passing groups of misplaced Lake Town residents. Some were inspecting the dilapidated buildings and others setting up makeshifts camps in the open squares.

"Where is New York?" Bard asked suddenly. His voice pulled her away from watching a group of women setting up a cloth tent and back to their trek.

"Um, sorry?"

"New York. After you came out of the light, that is the location you said you were from."

"The…light…" A memory of being surrounded by light on the brick path back at her college flashed in her head. Thranduil mentioned the light doing something to her. "Oh, yes. Um, New York. It's in the United States."

Bard looked at her as if she were crazy. That's right. If she was truly in Middle Earth then these people would know nothing about countries in her world. What could she say? She tried to remember a map of Middle Earth. Would he believe her if she said she was from the Undying Lands? He was already wary of her, maybe it was best not to test it.

"It's hard to explain," was the best answer she could muster in that moment. Bard shook his head and continued on silently. They soon arrived at a large grouping of tents, the cloth coverings bearing the markings of the Woodland Elves. Bard led her over to the largest tent and pulled back the cloth door, signaling for her to go in first. Upon entering she found who must be Gandalf, Thranduil, Bilbo, and one of the Elvish guards around a table talking in hushed tones. She stopped at the entrance, Bard moving to her right as he entered since she blocked the entrance. He cleared his throat and the four men looked over.

"Ah, Arya. Good to see you up and moving," Gandalf came out from behind the table and walked over to her. "There is someone I would like you to meet."


End file.
